We spoke with Danny Fox, the most in-demand artist at the moment

The dreamy violin of The Mist Covered Mountains of Home by Celtic Fiddle Festival gently plays in the background as I try to unravel the secrets of the brilliant artist I recently discovered—Danny Fox. Danny first heard this song on the radio a few days ago and has been listening to it ever since. To me, it is an insight into his magical world and the delicate sound is so soothing and warm that it truly feels like the background melody to a masterpiece.

The world’s largest online art marketplace Artsy, has named Danny Fox the most in-demand artist at the moment, with a remarkable 87% increase in inquiries about his work at the beginning of this year. In a time when simply being an artist and making a living from art is a true luxury and privilege, I can only imagine that such a surge in interest feels like a powerful boost for a painter. However, Danny describes the feeling as “being halfway through a marathon and someone throwing a bottle of water at him,” a metaphor for art unlike any I’ve encountered before—but one that makes perfect sense.

The British artist was born in St Ives, Cornwall, a coastal county in England, and has been exhibiting his work since 2011. He notes that the closer he gets to creating the kind of art he truly wants to make, the more “openly received” his work is – something he sees as a good sign.

Photo: umetnikova arhiva

Danny’s paintings are rhythmic and full of life, featuring subjects that do not shy away from harsh realities, tragedy, and violence—but neither from hope and passion. His works feel intimate and personal, a fragment of his distant world. Danny spent several years in Los Angeles but has since returned to his hometown of St Ives, where he currently resides. He portrays his birthplace through local buildings, bars, and folklore, all of which are deeply embedded in his artistic expression.

When asked why he thinks his work has captivated so many people at this moment, Danny responds: “I think I have a way of simplifying things that makes it easy for people to look at, to digest and to live with perhaps”. He adds that he notices his work resonates particularly with other painters: “I can say it straight and they can hear it.”

The Tinners 2020, Courtesy of Saatchi Yates

The figures in the artist’s paintings seem to be captured in an intimate moment, observed through his insightful eye. Although they are sometimes depicted vaguely, the characters in his works feel so real that I couldn’t resist asking him if they were perhaps people he knows. “More recently I have been painting people I know and taking care to represent their likeness, but I mostly use photographs which removes some of the intimacy,“ he replies.

“They are painted more from a place of longing for intimacy rather than evidence of an existing connection.”

Couple in Marseille 2022, Courtesy of Saatchi Yates

Still, what captures my attention the most are the scenes that feel as if they are set in a half-dream, in a frantic moment when you’re awake enough to be aware of the day ahead, but still so deeply in a dream that nothing actually feels real. There are animals with human heads, letters and symbols fading into the background. “Painting is always dreamlike to a point- even very realistic work is never quite real, there’s something slightly off even if it’s close, like a lucid dream,“ Danny explains. “I don’t like surrealism as a genre, especially melting clocks and the like,“ he gently counters my observations.

The Deadliest Catch 2021, Courtesy of Saatchi Yates

But then why, on the background of the painting Born Toulouse, do I clearly see the red emblem of the Chicago Bulls in the sky? “That was a story from my childhood,” sais Danny. “When I was around 8 years of age, we had a neighbour who was American. One day he moved away without saying much, but he left a parcel for me with my mother. Contained in the parcel was a small selection of art books and a Chicago Bulls basketball jersey. The book that spoke to me the most was Toulouse-Lautrec by Edward Lucie-Smith. The work had a simplicity and a gestural sort of unfinished quality that appealed to me especially in the pink and blue of ‘The Salon In The Rue Des Moulins’, which featured on the book’s cover. Also the boldness of the lithograph posters resonated with me tremendously. It’s was only in recent years when revisiting the book that I would realise it was written by Edward who had coincidentally written the catalogue foreword for my first show in London in 2014.”

The charismatic artist whose works are currently captivating art lovers and sculptors around the world states that he has many favorite artists, but on the day of our conversation, his choice is Sam Hall, whose ceramic works fascinate him. “I feel lucky to be an artist. To make a living you have to give your life to it, it’s a long shot, of course, but if you don’t give everything you’ll never know,” concluded Danny.

Danny Fox will present his work Kingdom at the exhibition at the University of Plymouth on April 11th, a piece he describes as the best work he has ever painted.